Who's Gonna Save The World Tonight?
by The Pedantic Lady Pendragon
Summary: When Gwen is poisoned after being attacked by an alien the team face a race against time to find out what is really going on and who is behind it! Set during season 2!
1. Friday Night And I Need A Fight!

Gwen's feet pounded hard along the wet path and her breath was coming out in long ragged bursts. She could hear the thundering of even heavier footsteps coming from not far behind her and she pushed herself even harder. The rain was cascading around her heavily and was blurring her vision but she continued on none the less. _'Where the hell are you Jack bloody Harkness?'_ she screamed inwardly as her hand tightened around the slippery gun in her hand.

She managed to make it out of the long alley and just as she thought she had gotten away a massive figure slammed into her hard sending her slamming to the floor. Her head hit the floor hard and stars danced their way into her already blurred vision. She was going to get up but the creature pounced on top of her pinning her down as it's huge jaws snapped at her throat. She tried to hold it off but howled in pain as it decided to clamp down on her defensive arm. The blood burst from the wound as it continued to attempt to literally rip her arm off. Stretching out the other one she tried to reach for her fallen gun but the blood loss was slowly starting to overcome her.

Finally her fingertips brushed the cold metal as the pain intensified and she knew she had to do something otherwise she was going to die. She got a firm grasp on it and swung it around hitting the creature hard over the head causing it to release his grip on her. Using this opportunity she pushed the thing off of her and staggered to her feet dizzily. She span and looked at the creature and could only watch helplessly as he jumped towards her again and just as he was about to strike a loud gunshot echoed throughout the area and the creature fell straight into Gwen knocking her down to the ground once more.

Gwen tried to blink away the dizziness and she could feel the creatures dead weight pressing down on her already sore body. The next thing she knew the alien was hauled off of her and she was being dragged to her feet by familiar strong arms that wrapped themselves around her wet frame tightly. His smell even seemed to help ease her pain somewhat. "Where the hell were you?" she slurred through gritted teeth as she clung to his arm trying to steady herself.

"The comms went dead and I couldn't get in touch with anyone! Jesus Gwen are you okay?" he said as he turned her face to look at him. She had blood running down the side of her face from her head. He then noticed the huge bite mark on her arm. The leather from her jacket was completely torn away and her flesh was ripped and bloodied.

She just nodded her head holding back the hiss of pain that was escaping her lips. No way would she let him see her cry over pain as much as she wanted too. Everything around her became blurry once again and her eyes moved uncontrollably around in their sockets as she tried to focus her gaze on the captain but it was impossible. "I'll b-be fine!" she slurred and was about to walk away from him but her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her body completely slumped. Jack caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Gwen? Gwen?" he said his voice panicked as he slapped at her cold and wet cheeks lightly. Shaking his head he scooped up her saturated form and ran back to the SUV. He placed her on the backseat and pulled his jacket off quickly putting it over her and then ran to the front seat. "Owen get the medical bay ready, Gwen's been injured and needs immediate assistance!" Jack barked down his now reactivated Com.

The line crackled from the otherside and Owen's voice hit his ears. "Will do Jack already done!" he said as he got everything sorted. He loved his job but he hated having to do this when it was his friends who were hurt.

"Is she okay? What happened?" Toshiko's worried voice came through as he drove like an absolute madman through the quiet streets of Cardiff. His eyes flicked to the rear view mirror and he could see the dark crimson patch seeping through his jacket and he paled.

"We got separated when the alien attacked! He's taken a huge bite out of her and she's losing a lot blood! I'm nearly there!" Jack said back quickly as he pulled up at the Plass. He jumped out ignoring his own bloodied appearance and wrenched the back doors open like a lunatic. Leaning forward he grabbed a hold of her and held her tightly kicking the door behind him and running full pace towards the tourist office. "Come on Gwen, you stay with me now yeah?" he said his voice frantic as he looked at the woman in his arms. The woman he had come to love as much more than just a colleague. There wasn't even a flicker of features as she stayed completely motionless and he noticed that the steady pulsing of her chest had slowed down dramatically.

The cog door rolled open and he flew through it with Gwen his saturated form squelching with every movement he made. Toshiko was the first to notice and she paled in horror at the sight of her friend. She didn't have the chance to say anything though as he breezed past her and down to the medical bay down to where Owen was waiting.

He placed her down on the metal slab and pulled his jacket off of her. Owen instantly winced as he looked at the wound but instantly snapped into doctor mode. "Okay Jack pass me a few of those towels there!" Owen ordered pointing to the rack opposite. "Now put as much pressure as possible on the wound!".

Jack nodded and did as the doctor said. He pressed down with one hand and let the other stray into her wet and blood matted hair. The wound in her head had been bleeding so heavily that even the rain couldn't wash away the crimson liquid which was slowly still seeping. "Okay now when I tell you to move the towel away you move the towel away got it!" Owen said and Jack just nodded again not really knowing what to say. "Okay now!" he said and Jack pulled the towel back and watched as more blood spilled from the wound onto the crisp white floor tiles. Owen quickly injected something into the wound and in a matter of seconds the blood flow began to slow down rapidly. The doctor continued to do his work as he grabbed a bag of blood from the fridge with Gwen's name on it and hooked it up onto a stand. He placed the end of the adjoining tube into her uninjured arm and watched as the blood flow through and into her body.

"She's lost a hell of a lot of blood Jack! This wound is nasty but I should be able to sew it up the best I can!" Owen grimaced as he readied the stitching equipment on almost autopilot.

"Do the best you can Owen!" Jack said back his voice still laced with fear. He looked down at her beautiful bloodied face and let his hand linger on her deathly cold cheek. Owen was making quick work of the nasty wound but Jack's gaze never broke from her face which looked so peaceful. All the worry lines were gone, the tense jaw was slack and Jack couldn't help but think she looked like an angel.

Tosh was in the doorway watching everything that was happening below. She gulped as she looked at how helpless their leader looked as did Gwen their second in command. She could see the blood over the floor and it literally made her gag. How someone could lose that much blood and live was shocking. She looked at bag of blood that was hanging up and noticed that it was nearly already empty and Owen was telling Jack what to do. She watched her leaders robotic movement as he swapped the bags over and now more blood was flowing into her friends veins.

Tosh shuddered once more and made her way back to her computer activating her comm once again. "Ianto do you have the alien?" she asked trying to distract herself from the scene in the med bay.

Ianto's soft voice came through the otherside. "Yeah I've got it Tosh, and it's big! Gwen didn't stand a chance!" Ianto said sullenly as he drove back towards the hub the alien in the back it's thick black blood mingling with Gwen's crimson blood which was smeared on the back seat. Ianto made a mental note to clean that up. "How is Gwen?" He asked wondering how his friend was.

"She's lost a lot of blood and is in a bad way but she's alive!" Tosh said back as she typed furiously at the keyboard.

"Wouldn't expect nothing less from her!" Ianto said with a small smile. He knew how much of a fighter the woman was.

Tosh let a small smile come onto her own face but it instantly fell as she heard a loud pained scream coming from the medical bay.

"It's okay Gwen calm down!" Jack tried to cooed as he watched her bite down so hard on her lip it drew blood.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she said painfully through gritted teeth. "I'm in fucking agony!" she shouted at him as she gripped her arm but only ended up causing her more pain. Owen acted quickly and quickly stuck a needle into her arm emptying the contents into her veins and in seconds her body relaxed and her eyes closed as the sedative knocked her out.

"This is all my fault!" Jack groaned running a bloodied hand across his head. He still hadn't really noticed what he looked like himself but didn't care at all. He had healed nicely and the only reminders he's got of his altercation with the alien is a shredded top covered in his blood and Gwen's.

"You couldn't have known what that thing was capable of!" Owen said back as he continued to look at Gwen. He noticed her head wound and turned her head to the side and winced at the nasty cut across the side of her head. "Now she's going to feel this in the morning!" Owen said with a dry laugh as he dabbed at it with alcohol cleaning the wound before beginning to stitch it up.

"She's gonna feel a lot of things in the morning!" Jack added absentmindedly rubbing small circles on the knuckles of her cold hand. Owen grunted in reply as he continued to patch her up. Finally he finished and snapping off his gloves he threw them into the bin. Owen noticed that Jack had made himself comfortable in the chair next to Gwen and knew that he would more than likely stay there until she woke up so put another syringe next him. "If she wakes up and is in a lot of pain then give her this!" Owen said before hopping up the stairs and into the main area of the hub. Jack nodded his head quickly flicking his eyes up to his colleague but then focusing on the raven haired welsh woman who was unconscious. With a loud sigh he leaned his elbows on the bed his hand still holding hers.

* * *

><p><strong>So first chapter guys! I haven't written a torchwood fic in a long while but miracle day is just sooooooooooo good! I am a die hard Gwack shipper always have been always will be its as simple as that! Don't get me wrong I love Ianto but I just don't like him and Jack together, sure it's cute but they seem to lack that emotional connection that Jack and Gwen have and he seems to care for Jack a lot more than Jack does to him! So if you hate Gwack then don't go getting all flamey because everyone has their ships and opinions and I've never once criticized a Janto shipper, if you like it you like it! So anyway no matter who you ship I hope you all enjoy! Thanks again guys!<strong>


	2. Heartlines

Ianto hauled the alien down into the cells. He would usually take him to the medical wing but that place was currently occupied so he decided to leave it here until Owen would have the chance to inspect it and see what exactly they were dealing with. Shutting the cell door he hurried back into the centre of the hub where Owen and Tosh were talking to each other. He walked over to his coffee machine and poured himself a cup of his special brew before making another for Jack.

He walked through over to the medical bay with a smile. Everytime he thought of the captain he felt his stomach do flips. But when he got to the doorway he stalled and his stomach completely fell. It looked innocent enough but to him it hurt. Jack had his head resting on the bed eyes shut and turned towards Gwen. One hand was in her hair and the other was linked with her hand which was resting on her stomach. He looked at the captains face and could see the worry creasing across his features even in his sleep. His position was almost protective as if he was willing anyone to go near her. The Welsh boy gulped trying to stop his shaking hands.

Shaking his head he turned quickly and left dropping Jack's coffee on the desk and heading straight to the tourist office out of everyone's way. He needed time to think.

**0o0o0o0o0o**

Jack opened his eyes and they instantly landed on the woman next to him. He was surprised he even fell asleep as he rarely slept but the emotional battle he had been fighting the last few hours must have really taken it's toll on him. He let out another loud sigh and continued to move soothing circles on her hand. He soon noticed that she was shivering so he tightened the duvet around her and rubbed his hand up and down her exposed uninjured arm trying to put some warmth into it.

His bright blue eyes flicked up to her face and he could see a thin layer of sweat on her forehead so he raised his hand and placed the back of it on her head and it was boiling. Jack furrowed his brows confused that she seemed feverish but didn't think too much about it.

He hated that he had gotten himself killed and allowed the alien to go after Gwen. _He should have done more to prevent it. He can't die but she can_. He shuddered as those thoughts continued to go through his head as the guilt that he carried all too often crept back into his mind.

He groaned and hung his head in shame. _I'm meant to protect these people, not get them killed_ he yelled at himself mentally as his handsome face contorted into so many emotions. Anger at himself. Ashamed at himself. Let down at himself. He was so embroiled in his own inner turmoil that he failed to realise the figure beside him had stirred slightly. Her eyes flickered open and she instantly looked at the figure that was beside her. She knew who it was before she opened her eyes. The warm big hands, and the smell. The musky scent of old wood and whisky. "Jack?" she mumbled her voice more like a rough whisper and the more she began to register things the more the pain intensified. Her head was throbbing and it felt as if someone was chipping away at her skull with an ice pick.

His head whipped up and instantly a smile of relief washed across his tanned face. "Thank god you're awake! I thought you were going to sleep there forever!" he said lightly his hand closing around hers a little tighter.

"I'm no sleeping beauty!" she said groggily as she struggled to keep her eyes open. A small smile came to her lips as she said this.

Jack chuckled lightly at this. "Well I beg to differ Miss Cooper because if I'm correct you have been sleeping and you are beautiful!" he said his voice laced with that familiar Harkness charm.

Gwen just rolled her tired eyes at him. "I must look awful if you're swarming me with compliments!" she replied as she shifted position slightly but hissed in pain at the burning in her arm. Jack noticed this almost instantly and stood leaning over to grab the syringe.

"Is it hurting you?" he asked softly and she nodded her face screwed up as another wave of pain hit her. She didn't want to even look at her arm but even if she did it would be impossible to see as it was swathed in white bandages. "This will take the pain away okay!" he said as he stuck the syringe in her arm and dispensed the liquid inside.

"My head….I feel like I've got the world's worst hangover!" she said tiredly as the pain instantly began to ease and she felt her eyes start to drop. Jack just gave his trademark smirk at her.

"Well getting in a fight with an alien does that to you!" he said with a wink and she laughed lightly. "Now sleep, I'll be right here okay!" he said and she nodded slightly before her head fell to one side.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to Jack!" she said her voice barely above a whisper as sleep began to completely consume her. Jack smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"Nowhere else I'd rather be Gwen!" he said with a smile and he saw one grace her face before she fell asleep once more their hands still linked. He sat himself back down in the uncomfortable chair glad that she seemed to be a little bit better than the last time they spoke, well if you could count her screaming in pain even a conversation.

**0o0o0o0o0o**

There was a comfortable silence filling the place. Owen was asleep on the settee as he decided to stay in the hub for the night just in case there was any changes in Gwen's condition. Tosh was asleep at her desk her head on the keyboard and Ianto was doing what he normally did whilst he was at the hub, watering the plants.

He still couldn't get the image out of his head of Jack looking so worried. In fact he had never seen him so worried except when John was threatening to blow up himself and Gwen. Or when she was nearly shot in the abattoir. In fact he only ever saw Jack like this when it was Gwen who was hurt.

He remembered when he had a nasty run in with a weevil and it took a bite out of his shoulder. Jack looked worried but there was nothing behind it. He just said he hopes he gets better soon and left him to sleep. He didn't sit there with him keeping a bedside vigil. A pang of jealousy surged through him at this but as soon as it came it was gone. He couldn't compare his injury with Gwen's. Hell he couldn't even compare his relationship with Jack to Gwen's. He knew there was always an unspoken connection between the two. He could spot it a mile away for Ianto Jones was incredibly observant. From the subtle comforting touches to the deep conversations in the office where they would pour their hearts out to each other.

Another surge of jealousy went through. It should be me he should confide in. But again he couldn't hold those thoughts for long. It just wasn't in his nature. So he continued with his usual routine trying to do anything but think of the two down in the medical bay.

**0o0o0o0o0o**

Images were flicking through Gwen's mind as she slept in her drug induced sleep. A large hulking figure was stood there. It looked and awful lot like a weevil with it's wrinkly skin and hard features but it had long tentacles emerging from its body. **'You will join us! You belong to us now!**' the voice boomed as he neared Gwen. She tried to step away from him but found she was frozen to the spot. Her mind screamed at her to move but her limbs were lodged in place.

Her eyes opened with a start and this sent a searing pain through her head and body and a small sob escaped her lips as the jerky movements aggravated her injuries. Jack's head whipped up in a flash as he pushed her gently back down onto the bed. "Hey it's okay! What's wrong?" he cooed as he watched as she took deep breaths.

"J-Just a nightmare that's all!" she said groggily as she composed herself and she instantly felt tired once again as the drug in her system continued to do it's work.

"You wanna talk about it?" he asked kindly brushing the hair off of her soaking forehead gently not hurt her stitched wounds. She just shook her head side to side slowly.

"How long have I been out?" she asked groggily as she tried to ignore the stinging pain in her arm. The pain wasn't as intense as before but it was still there and by god it hurt.

"A good few hours now! The sun's up and everything, those sedatives did a number on you!" Jack said back as he stretched out his aching back from the position he had been in.

"Tell me about it" she said rolling her eyes but her voice broke and cracked. "Get me a glass of water please Jack, I'm parched!" she said and he got up and saluted her.

"Yes ma'am!" he said with a wink and hurried up the steps glad to get some movement back into his limbs. Owen looked up from his desk. "I'm getting Gwen some water, go on check on her please Owen see if there's anything we've missed!" he asked and Owen hurried down to the med wing.

Jack quickly got the water and walked back through the hub. He stopped next to Toshiko. "So we got anything on our alien?" he asked and she shook her head.

"Not really no!" she shrugged as she pulled her glasses off and put them down. She hadn't realised but she had visible keyboard marks on the side of the face where she had slept. "There doesn't seem to be any records of this specific alien in our database! Owen's running some bloods though see what else we can find" she said with a nod and Jack squeezed her shoulder as a thanks before jogging back down to Gwen.

He held the glass to her lips as she took a big gulp of water. It instantly refreshed her and made her feel just a little bit more awake. "So Gwen are you feeling any nausea?" Owen said as he shined the light in her tender eyes.

"Not really no! Just in a lot of pain and tired!" she said as Jack eased her up and she swung her legs over the side of the bed trying to ease the tension in her stiff limbs. She noticed that her arm was in a huge sling and completely bandaged up so there was barely any skin visible.

"Well that's just natural!" Owen scoffed as he leaned against the guard rail. "You've got a light fever which I can't pinpoint the reason behind so I'm going to run some blood and saliva sample just as a precaution!" he said to her as he walked over with a swab in his hand. "Luckily I've already taken some of your blood as you bled out all over my workstation so now I just need you to open your mouth so I can take a swab, it should be easier enough for you!" he said teasingly and she just gave another eye roll and opened her mouth as he brushed the cotton on the inside of her cheek. "There done!".

Gwen nodded and then turned to look at Jack. "So what happened to the thing that did this to me?" she asked as her mind wandered back to alley.

"He's dead! We don't really know that much about him yet but we're getting there!" Jack said his arms crossed across his chest and his posture strong. Gwen nodded back at him and rolled her neck slowly even the slightest of movements making her wince in pain.

"So anything I can do?" she asked hopefully. She just wanted to do anything right now.

Jack just looked at her eyebrows raised as did Owen. "No you are staying on bed rest!" Jack said simply not even giving her enough time to add anything in. She pouted at him. "Its not gonna work Gwen and the doctor here will back me up in saying that you must stay in bed!" Jack said smugly and looked at Owen who smiled at Gwen.

"Doctors orders! You are staying there!" Owen said as he left the med bay without another word. Gwen scowled through her pain at Jack who just beamed widely at her.

"Well looks like you have no choice!" he chuckled and she went to slap him with her uninjured arm but he stepped back but whilst doing this she managed to move herself off the bed. Just as she was about to hit the cold floor Jack caught her and a low growl of pain rumbled from her as he lifted her back onto the bed.

"Ouch!" she grumbled as he put her back on the bed properly and then sat beside her taking a hold of her hand.

"I told you to take it easy!" he laughed lightly a hint of worry still in his voice.

She grimaced at him before relaxing slightly. "Okay I cave you were right Jack bloody Harkness!" she grumbled at him.

"Do you always have to curse when saying my name!" Jack said playfully and she smiled at him.

"It makes it sound better!" she said simply. He stirred up so many different emotions in her that she couldn't help but let them slip through somehow.

"Does it really?" he said with raised eyebrows as he squeezed her hand lightly receiving a squeeze of his own back. She nodded at him a tiny grin on her pain filled face. "I tried getting in touch with Rhys but he's not answering his phone!" Jack said and his heart dropped as he remembered the other man in Gwen's life. And he wasn't just any man, he was her husband.

"He's working up in Edinburgh for the next two weeks! Don't tell him anything about this, because all he'll do is fuss over me and it really annoys me!" Gwen said her voice emotionless as she spoke of her husband.

This shocked Jack slightly. He hadn't expected to her to react like that. "Is something wrong?" he asked almost instantly.

Gwen sighed and looked up straight into Jack's blue eyes. "It's just….it's just things haven't been the same the last few weeks!" she grumbled never taking her eyes from him. "All we do is argue nearly every hour of the day! When I get home I can guarantee that he's pissed out of his head and will always find something to pick a fight with me about! He didn't just take this trip for the money, It was because he needed time to himself and work out what he wanted!" Gwen said with a long sigh afterwards.

Jack just held her hand a little tighter showing her that he was there for her no matter what. He couldn't help but feel quite happy about this sudden change in their relationship. But that thought was struck down instantly as he remembered this was Gwen's husband. She married him and she loved him and he knew that it was more than likely cutting her up deep inside. And he would try to respect that. Emphasis on the word try.

"It'll sort itself out eventually Gwen! I mean what's meant to be is meant to be right!" he said with a small smile and she nodded back at him.

"That's what I keep saying to myself!" she said to him as she rested her eyes slightly feeling reassured with his presence next to her.

He was going to speak again when Tosh came running over to the steps. "Jack we've got a rift spike similar to the alien that came through!" she said and he looked at her and then at Gwen.

"Duty calls! Go on go I'll still be here when you get back!" she said pushing him towards the steps. He winked at her kissed the crown of her head before hurrying out after Tosh.

"Okay Owen, Tosh with me! Ianto stay here to keep an eye on Gwen and monitor any other activity!" He said slinging on his now dry greatcoat and running out of the hub the other two men closely behind._ Now let's see what we're up against_ he mumbled inwardly.

**0o0o0o0o0o**

**Sorry about the delay all, I have been so incredibly busy. So chapter number two guys. I hope you are enjoying and if so please drop a review, they really give me the motivation to continue because I really do hate letting people down if they like it. Peace out guys.**


End file.
